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Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas! This week, Santa came early to give me tickets to watch Disney's "Tron: Legacy" in theaters. I went to see it without reading any movie reviews beforehand so I wouldn't have any preconceived ideas about it.

If you haven't watched it, the Internet Movie Database describes the storyline as follows: "Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 20 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous."

This movie is a sequel to the 1982 movie "Tron," and it's good to see that Jeff Bridges returned as Kevin Flynn. I broke the review down into five aspects:

Plot - The plot is predictable, but not so much like Avatar was. There isn't any groundbreaking ideas, but that's fine considering that science fiction has probably covered them all. The movie seems more about excitement, which it does pretty well.

Visual - When in the Grid, there's a lot of black with strips of bright color throughout, especially the outfits, which work well because it brings a circuit board to mind. The camera angles are good, and there is definitely a "cool" factor. For the 3D version, I'm disappointed at how little of it there seems to be. It is symbolic how the movie goes from 2D to 3D when Sam goes into the cyber world, but I didn't notice much 3D in the film, perhaps because it is subtle. When I did notice the 3D, it is impressive, much like the 3D Disney logo.

Acting - The acting isn't very emotional, but it isn't horrible, either. It is sort of on par with other movies of its kind.

Action - I love the light cycle and disc games as well as the suspense throughout. There is a fight scene in a club that thankfully doesn't go overboard and lengthy like similar scenes in other action movies. The pacing is good, so I have no complaints.

Soundtrack - The music is by Daft Punk, except when "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" by Journey and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics play in the arcade scene. Upbeat music is noticeably dispersed throughout the film at key points in the film, and there's a party scene that has cameos of the DJ artists. Other than those parts, the music blends well with the scenes and does not distract. I actually was expecting more unique beats throughout, but it's good they didn't overdo it (although I personally like their music). Since the movie mostly takes place in the electronic world, the music fits.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie because I love the visual style and music as well as the excitement. I would recommend it to those who like techno and science fiction, but I think others would like it as well. I would need to wait a while and watch it again to see if it has a lasting appeal, but so far, it ranks pretty high on my list of favorite movies. I give it an 8 out of 10.

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